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Welcome to the 7th edition of The Bodyboard Report! 🤙

For years, bodyboarding has sat just outside the Olympic conversation, close enough to be recognised but never fully taken seriously.

That position is starting to look outdated.

At the highest level, bodyboarding is already performing at an Olympic standard, and in some ways it exceeds what we currently see in Olympic surfing and skateboarding.

The Jamaican Bobsled Team qualified for the 2026 Winter Olympics…

Antofagasta is a full on boogie festival…

Hey, it seems that anything is possible! 🥇🥈🥉

I waves like Banzai Pipeline, riders are pulling into deeper barrels, engaging with more critical sections, and committing to lines that leave almost no margin for error.

At places like Teahupoʻo, the difference becomes even clearer, where the prone position allows athletes to access parts of the wave that are simply out of reach for stand up surfers.

This is not a fringe version of surfing, it is a more direct engagement with the most powerful part of the wave.

From a spectator point of view, that matters more than people realise.

Bodyboarding is easier to read, easier to judge, and easier to understand in real time, especially for a global audience that is not fluent in surf scoring.

You either make the section or you do not, and when you do, it is visually undeniable.

There is also a strong argument around accessibility, which aligns closely with how the Olympics evaluates new sports.

Bodyboarding has a lower cost of entry, a faster learning curve, and a broader grassroots presence across regions that are often underrepresented in elite sport.

Countries in South America, Africa, and parts of Europe are already producing high level competitors without the same infrastructure advantages seen in traditional surf nations.

The real issue has never been performance, it has been structure.

Unlike surfing, which operates under the International Surfing Association, bodyboarding has spent decades fragmented, inconsistently governed, and often treated as a secondary discipline within national federations.

That fragmentation has made Olympic inclusion almost impossible, regardless of how strong the sport looks in the water.

What is changing now is not the level of talent, but the way the sport is organising itself.

Through efforts linked to Pan American Surfing Association and broader continental alignment, bodyboarding is beginning to build the governance, representation, and standardisation that the Olympic system requires.

The push toward events like the Pan American Games Lima 2027 is not symbolic, it is procedural, and it follows the same pathway used by other sports that have successfully entered the Olympic programme.

The question then shifts from whether bodyboarding belongs, to how it would be delivered on an Olympic stage.

Natural venues like Pipeline or Teahupoʻo offer maximum performance and authenticity, and they have already proven themselves in elite competition.

At the same time, wave pools introduce a level of consistency and scheduling control that fits neatly into the Olympic model, particularly from a broadcasting perspective.

The most likely outcome is a transition, where natural waves define the early inclusion, and controlled environments shape the long term format.

There are still arguments against inclusion, mostly centred around commercial scale and visibility.

Bodyboarding does not yet have the same global backing or structured professional circuit as surfing, and that gap is real.

But those factors have not stopped other sports from entering the Olympics, especially when they demonstrate strong participation, clear performance metrics, and a pathway to governance stability.

The more important shift is happening beneath the surface.

Bodyboarding is no longer trying to prove that it is progressive or culturally significant, because that argument does not move Olympic decision makers.

It is now building the institutional framework required to be taken seriously at that level.

That changes the conversation completely.

Because once a sport aligns itself with governance, representation, and global standardisation, inclusion becomes a matter of process rather than opinion.

Bodyboarding is now entering that process.

And once it does, it becomes increasingly difficult to justify why it should be left out.

The current push toward Olympic inclusion is being driven less by a single figure and more by a coordinated bloc, although individuals like Jorge Mix have emerged as visible catalysts pushing the agenda publicly and operationally.

At an institutional level, the more influential role sits with people like Karín Sierralta, (that’s a dude) who operates within the Pan American Surfing Association and has direct pathways into Olympic-aligned structures, particularly through relationships with National Olympic Committees and Panam Sports.

The strategy is not to approach the Olympic committee directly, but to work through the recognised chain, which means formal alignment with the International Surfing Association, since surfing is already an Olympic sport and acts as the governing gateway.

From there, the process becomes procedural, starting with federation alignment across multiple countries, followed by the creation of official bodyboarding commissions within existing surfing bodies, and then the submission of a formal proposal through continental organisations into multi sport events.

The immediate objective is inclusion in competitions like the Pan American Games Lima 2027, because success at that level provides the legitimacy, participation data, and governance proof required for Olympic consideration.

If that milestone is achieved, the next step would typically be demonstration status or inclusion in Olympic-adjacent events, before a full review by the IOC, which evaluates factors like global reach, youth appeal, gender equity, cost, and broadcast value.

Realistically, even with strong momentum, Olympic inclusion would not happen before the early 2030s, and that would depend heavily on how quickly bodyboarding can standardise globally and secure its position within the ISA framework.

The key point is that this is no longer speculative or informal, it is a structured campaign moving through the same institutional pathways that every modern Olympic sport has had to navigate.

Antofagasta is on like Donkey Kong! 👇

The Dropknee division has progressed through the quarterfinals, with the semifinal matchups now locked in between Sammy Morretino and Leonardo Alar on one side, and Jericco Rosero against Amaury Lavernhe on the other.

Ecuador’s Rosero has been one of the standout performers of the event so far, posting some of the highest scores of the festival.

In the Men’s division, the event has advanced through Round 4 and into the Round 5 stage, narrowing the field down toward the final 24 competitors.

Several Chilean riders survived the repechage rounds to stay in contention, while international names like Tristan Roberts, Pierre Louis Costes, Armide Soliveres, and Eder Luciano remain firmly in the mix.

The festival itself has again reinforced Antofagasta’s reputation as one of the heaviest and most performance driven stops on the IBC World Tour, with La Nilda delivering critical barrels and high scoring conditions, especially on the 4th day of competition.

Catch the Day 4 Highlights here on the IBC World Tour YouTube channel.

Remember, this is the one where we get a a new DK world champ!

Looking forward to spray hitting the screens! 🔥🌊

Previous publicatons. 👇

1st Edition 🌊

2nd Edition 🌊

3rd Edition 🌊

4th Edition 🌊

5th Edition 🌊

6th Edition 🌊

Disclaimer: The Bodyboard Report is published for informational and entertainment purposes only. All images, media, and referenced content remain the copyright of their respective owners and are used for editorial commentary and community sharing. The Bodyboard Report does not claim ownership of any third party content.